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Flagler, Volusia conservation lands get high district marks

Published: Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 2:23 p.m.

Haw Creek, Pellicer Creek, Heart Island, Tiger Bay and other lands in Flagler and Volusia counties are colored shades of green on a new set of maps from the regional water management agency and local officials couldn't be happier.

The maps, released late Friday, analyze the natural resource values of conservation lands owned by the St. Johns River Water Management District. The analysis -- the first step in a year-long process to decide whether all of the district's land is still needed for conservation -- has had officials in the two counties feeling nervous since it was announced several weeks ago.

Color-coding on the new county maps shows most of the land the district either owns separately or jointly within the two counties appears to be of medium to high resource value, making local officials optimistic they'll stay in conservation.

"This is nothing but good news for Flagler County," said Flagler Commissioner George Hanns.

The maps are the result of an "acre by acre" scientific assessment the district completed over the past six months, district officials said.

The maps rank the properties on a scale of 0 to 12, with lands of lower resource value labeled 0 to 5 in shades of red and orange and lands of higher value labeled 6 to 12, in shades of yellow-green to green.

The district embarked on the review after a set of directives from Gov. Rick Scott's administration. The district owns 705,000 acres of land and conservation easements throughout an 18-county region, including 21,935 acres in Flagler, 1,931 of which is jointly owned with the county. In Volusia, the district owns 97,262, including 18,533 jointly with the county.

Hanns was one of a number of officials in the two counties who made it clear to the district they didn't think any land in the two counties should be considered surplus. Flagler commissioners were concerned about losing any conservation land they're using to boost economic development through echo-tourism.

Volusia council members reacted even more strongly, sending a four-page resolution of opposition to the district.

On Saturday, Volusia Councilwoman Patricia Northey said she was happy to see the map.

"I think it's a fabulous map," Northey said. "You look at it and say there's no way they can possibly think that there's anything that's surplus."

"Every parcel is in a green," she said. "Some are greener than others."

Hanns said it made sense the properties in Flagler County would be considered of higher resource value.

"There was a lot of research and cooperation when we were obtaining those parcels," Hanns said. That's the reason Flagler agreed to partner with the district on the purchases, Hanns said, because they were "very important."

Clay Henderson, a former Volusia councilman active in land conservation programs locally and statewide for decades, said the maps confirm "that we invested our resources in protecting lands with high conservation values."

"It will be very difficult for the district to conclude that any of these lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes," Henderson stated in an email.

From the beginning, Robert Christianson, the district's director of operations and land resources, asked local officials to trust the process. Christianson had said he expected the analysis to confirm that much of the land purchased over 35 years for flood control and water resource protection was of high resource value.

Small pieces of the district's Palm Bluff and Lake Monroe conservation areas in Osteen have tiny bits of orange and a small piece of the Graham Swamp Conservation Area east of Bunnell is colored a light shade of orange.

However, when the district evaluates access and some of the other criteria it's scheduled to consider, Northey said she hopes it will decide not to parcel off any bits of the conservation areas.

District officials say the next step in the district's evaluation is a discussion with the district's governing board on July 10 about the policies to be used in deciding whether any of the lands labeled of lower resource value should be considered surplus.

Northey said she still fears what could happen as the process plays out during the rest of this year.

"If the process is as they said it will be, then it will be fine," she said. "But, if it gets political, who knows."

<p><p>Haw Creek, Pellicer Creek, Heart Island, Tiger Bay and other lands in Flagler and Volusia counties are colored shades of green on a new set of maps from the regional water management agency and local officials couldn't be happier. </p></p><p><p>The maps, released late Friday, analyze the natural resource values of conservation lands owned by the St. Johns River Water Management District. The analysis -- the first step in a year-long process to decide whether all of the district's land is still needed for conservation -- has had officials in the two counties feeling nervous since it was announced several weeks ago. </p></p><p><p>Color-coding on the new county maps shows most of the land the district either owns separately or jointly within the two counties appears to be of medium to high resource value, making local officials optimistic they'll stay in conservation. </p></p><p><p>"This is nothing but good news for Flagler County," said Flagler Commissioner George Hanns. </p></p><p><p>The maps are the result of an "acre by acre" scientific assessment the district completed over the past six months, district officials said. </p></p><p><p>The maps rank the properties on a scale of 0 to 12, with lands of lower resource value labeled 0 to 5 in shades of red and orange and lands of higher value labeled 6 to 12, in shades of yellow-green to green. </p></p><p><p>The district embarked on the review after a set of directives from Gov. Rick Scott's administration. The district owns 705,000 acres of land and conservation easements throughout an 18-county region, including 21,935 acres in Flagler, 1,931 of which is jointly owned with the county. In Volusia, the district owns 97,262, including 18,533 jointly with the county. </p></p><p><p>Hanns was one of a number of officials in the two counties who made it clear to the district they didn't think any land in the two counties should be considered surplus. Flagler commissioners were concerned about losing any conservation land they're using to boost economic development through echo-tourism. </p></p><p><p>Volusia council members reacted even more strongly, sending a four-page resolution of opposition to the district. </p></p><p><p>On Saturday, Volusia Councilwoman Patricia Northey said she was happy to see the map. </p></p><p><p>"I think it's a fabulous map," Northey said. "You look at it and say there's no way they can possibly think that there's anything that's surplus." </p></p><p><p>"Every parcel is in a green," she said. "Some are greener than others." </p></p><p><p>Hanns said it made sense the properties in Flagler County would be considered of higher resource value. </p></p><p><p>"There was a lot of research and cooperation when we were obtaining those parcels," Hanns said. That's the reason Flagler agreed to partner with the district on the purchases, Hanns said, because they were "very important." </p></p><p><p>Clay Henderson, a former Volusia councilman active in land conservation programs locally and statewide for decades, said the maps confirm "that we invested our resources in protecting lands with high conservation values." </p></p><p><p>"It will be very difficult for the district to conclude that any of these lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes," Henderson stated in an email. </p></p><p><p>From the beginning, Robert Christianson, the district's director of operations and land resources, asked local officials to trust the process. Christianson had said he expected the analysis to confirm that much of the land purchased over 35 years for flood control and water resource protection was of high resource value. </p></p><p><p>Small pieces of the district's Palm Bluff and Lake Monroe conservation areas in Osteen have tiny bits of orange and a small piece of the Graham Swamp Conservation Area east of Bunnell is colored a light shade of orange. </p></p><p><p>However, when the district evaluates access and some of the other criteria it's scheduled to consider, Northey said she hopes it will decide not to parcel off any bits of the conservation areas. </p></p><p><p>District officials say the next step in the district's evaluation is a discussion with the district's governing board on July 10 about the policies to be used in deciding whether any of the lands labeled of lower resource value should be considered surplus. </p></p><p><p>Northey said she still fears what could happen as the process plays out during the rest of this year. </p></p><p><p>"If the process is as they said it will be, then it will be fine," she said. "But, if it gets political, who knows."</p></p><p><p></p></p><p><p><strong>MORE:</strong> <a href="http://floridaswater.com/landassessment/pdfs/Volusia.pdf">Volusia map</a> | <a href="http://floridaswater.com/landassessment/pdfs/Flagler.pdf">Flagler map</a></p><p></p></p><p>-----</p>